With the Oscar nominations set to be announced tomorrow, amidst speculation about what kind of awards ceremony Hollywood can muster under the circumstances of a writers’ strike, I would like to register my vote early for the man most likely to be overlooked: Gordon Pinsent. Mr. Pinsent is my countryman, and by saying this I mean he is a Newfoundlander, not just a fellow Canadian. He was born nearly seventy-eight years ago in Grand Falls, about a two hour drive from where my mother grew up. As a result, it feels as though I have always been aware of him. His career had its start in typical Canadian venues before he experienced an initial “Hollywood” phase. Through most of my life he has been a revered statesman of the arts in Canada, playing in everything from The Rowdyman (1972) to John and the Missus (1987) to the The Red Green Show, but I’ve seen him in person only once: at the provincial drama festival in St. John’s in 1997. This was before another celebrated Hollywood turn in The Shipping News (2001), where his Billy Pretty character steals the movie from a languid Kevin Spacey.
The current performance drawing acclaim is his portrayal of Grant Anderson, the husband character in Away from Her. As more than one reviewer has pointed out, the story unfolds from Grant’s fretful experience. When his wife Fiona, played with Oscar-caliber aplomb by Julie Christie, begins to exhibit early symptoms of dementia, Grant must work through the full implications of what is happening to them both. When Fiona’s inevitable institutionalization opens her life to a new, unexpected act in a time reserved for closing credits, it is Grant who must come to terms with the legacy of a life spent and, sometimes, misspent. This is not to diminish at all the suffering of Alzheimer’s, nor is it meant to disparage Ms Christie’s performance. But this tale of suffering needs its teller, and it is Mr. Pinsent’s understated presence that lends an epic lens to the narrow experience of everyday existence. Ms Christie is likely to receive a Best Actress nomination, and she has an excellent chance to get the associated statuette – even if, because of the writer’s strike, it might be couriered from a press conference in California. While it is possible to argue that the two best lead performances this year may be found in a single film, the truth is that Fiona carries with high drama what Grant is entrusted to establish. I suspect that the heights Ms Christie achieves – not to mention stiff competition from the likes of Daniel Day Lewis – may overshadow the weight of what Mr. Pinsent has done.
Away from Her is, at the level of narrative, an unassuming story brought to the screen conscientiously by Sarah Polley, who has been staking her own claim to the status of Canadian national treasure over her twenty-year career. Whatever muted Oscar spotlight possible this year will surely shine on Ms Christie and this film. But when this inspires you to take a look at this picture, savor the performance of Gordon Pinsent, a professional actor whose studied assurance reminds us that life on the stage and the screen is both an art and a craft.
